Things of Legend
by Lies of a Silver Tongue
Summary: Dementors are everywhere. Azkaban, Hogsmeade, even around the prestigious Hogwarts itself! But not inside... Right? Do things of legend walk in the very footsteps of the Founders? Their lives go on, appearing almost interchangeable with us oblivious students. But if you look closely you can see a few shrouded in cloaks of dark shadow. But walking among us, as humans? Chew on that.
1. Chapter 1: Diagon Alley

**A/N: Hey all! It's Lies of a Silver Tongue (**_**LOST**_**) here! New story. I know. *avoids rotten tomatoes* I can't help it! Thank you for giving this story a try anyway! As always, I don't really know where this'll go. I will be writing this with my sister who goes by the penname MagicMilkbone (**_**MM**_**) on this site.**

**First things first. I've had this idea for quite a while. I don't know for how long or when I thought of it, but I think it might've come to me when I was riding the Forbidden Journey for about the millionth time this last summer. (It was my second time going to Universal Orlando Studios. Both times, I went when the Harry Potter themed parks opened. Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are **_**AMAZING**_**!) It was probably around when the dementors attacked in the Quidditch Pitch and we dove into the cleft.**

**Anyway, Please review, follow, and favorite! Constructive criticism is much appreciated, but flames mean as little as mint does to me. And I hate mint. XD **_**THIS STORY IS UN'BETAED! ALL MISTAKES MADE ARE MY OWN. FEEL FREE TO NOTIFY ME OF ANY ERRORS!**_

**-**_**LOST**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter books or movies and am not trying to make money off of writing spinoffs from the series. All rights reserved.**

* * *

Diagon Alley was always a busy place. Wizards buying the comfortable robes at Twilfitt and Tattings for everyday wear, witches purchasing dresses with friends all the while gossiping about Witch Weekly's 'Most Charming Smile' award winner, and children running amok, indulging in a scoop- or four- of Florean Fortescue's sticky toffee ice cream. It was no different when Mariah Rist came to buy her supplies for her first year at Hogwarts. She had already gotten her wand when she was much younger, eleven-and-three-quarter inches of dark-tinted yew with a dragon heartstring core, and recently bought her cauldron, and her brass scales.

"Oh auntie, please!" She was saying, staring imploringly at her aunt. "May I _please_ get a scoop of clotted cream and treacle fudge before we go and get my robes?" Mariah never said 'auntie', unless it was in times like this. She even threw in her puppy dog eyes. Literally. Her nose elongated slightly and turned into a muzzle.

"Oh all right." Her aunt Lilica sighed, handing Mariah a few sickles and a galleon. In truth, she really didn't care. She didn't care if the child wanted to buy eighteen pygmy puffs. Mariah would get it. However, Lilica didn't care if the child walked off the edge of a cliff and fell to her tragic death either. She just didn't care. "Make it quick." Mariah grinned, her muzzle disappearing. Her hair bubbled bright yellow before returning to it's normal dark shade and Mariah ran off towards the ice cream parlor.

Wizards and witches all around her parted to make way as soon as they saw the emblem on her outer robes. Everyone recognised the lilac crest of a clashing wolf and eagle surrounded by a serpentine dragon of Mariah's family. She quickly got her scoops of ice cream and turned to leave, paying Mr. Fortescue. "Thank you, sir." She said as she walked out the door.

Looking up, Mariah saw a familiar head of red. "Aideen!" She exclaimed. Said witch turned her head.

"Mariah!" Aideen said in turn. "You here to buy your supplies?" Mariah nodded. "Exciting. Hogwarts is great fun. And, I've got a surprise for you." The younger girl looked at Aideen expectantly. "Oh, you'll just have to wait and see. Go finish the rest of your shopping. I'll most likely meet you at Flourish and Blotts. That is, if you haven't bought your books yet. Now run along."

Mariah returned to her aunt. "Who was that woman?" Lilica asked her, looking at the auburn haired witch who was already making her way down the street towards the book store.

"A friend." Mariah answered vaguely. She looked at her supply list. Next stop: robes.

* * *

Walking out of Madam Malkin's, new, elegant, black robes in hand, Mariah dragged her aunt toward Flourish and Blotts. She frowned upon seeing the gathered crowd and flashing lights. Witches and wizards alike were spilling out of the small, cramped shop, flooding out of the narrow door. "Aunt Lilica, what's happening?" Mariah questioned.

Lilica's face lit up. She immediately began to fix her already-perfect, black hair. Straightening her clothes, she answered, "Oh, Gilderoy Lockhart has come to visit Diagon Alley." Lilica answered, having just remembered. "Oh, how generous of him to take time out of his busy celebrity schedule! A great man, he is. Very brave and handsome, too!" She looked at Mariah thoughtfully. "Quick, turn your hair lilac!" Mariah looked at her aunt, confused.

"But why?" She asked.

"Just do it!" Lilica snapped.

"Fine, fine." Mariah huffed. "Er, what color is lilac exactly?" Lilica sighed, pointing to the crest on her own robes.

"That color." Mariah looked at the emblem and blinked slowly, her vision soaking up the color. Her hair slowly turned the correct shade of purple and Lilica clapped excitedly. She asked for Mariah to do the same with her eyes, but the younger witch blatantly refused to that.

Pushing past probably half of the female population of witches in the world, Mariah and Lilica finally entered Flourish and Blotts. Mariah craned her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the famous Gilderoy Lockhart. Her aunt Lilica squealed. "Ooh, there he is!" The pair pushed past more people, Mariah getting many envious glances because of her current hair color. They also received many glares, though the crowd kept their mouths shut upon seeing their family crest.

"Nice big smile, Harry." Lockhart was saying to a young boy with dark hair and round glasses, vivid eyes a startling green. Mariah made a face at the celebrity wizard with blonde hair.

"Oh, isn't he a looker!" A nearby witch exclaimed. She was a plump woman, with smile lines around her mouth and warm brown eyes. Her hair was the most striking, still a vibrant red despite her middle-agedness. Lilica sneered at her. The woman was very obviously a Weasley.

"I hope you are here to actually buy your haggle of children school books, Mrs. Weasley." The younger, twenty-eight year old witch spat at the matriarch of the Weasley clan. "Mr. Lockhart would never pay much attention to a poor, blood traitor such as yourself. A married one, at that." Molly Weasley's face turned as red as her hair, turning even redder at the sight of Lilica's family crest. She opened her mouth to retort, but paused when she saw Mariah at Lilica's side. Molly settled for a furious glare at Mariah's aunt before turning back around.

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography- which I shall be happy to present to him now, free of charge-" Lockhart was saying. The crowd applauded at the last part. "He had _no idea_," he continued, shaking Harry. "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, _Magical Me_. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" The crowd cheered and clapped as Mariah blanched. Lockhart was admittedly decently attractive, she would give him that, _even as an eleven year old_, but him teaching a class, Defense Against the Dark Arts no less, was completely absurd.

The young boy on the stage, who Mariah quickly realized was _Harry Potter_, practically toppled off of the stage, staggering under the stack of books in his arms. Marching towards Mariah and her aunt, he stopped near the Weasley clan, plus Hermione Granger and her muggle parents. "You have these." He mumbled to the youngest and only female Weasley. She appeared to be the same age as Mariah. Lilica stiffened, staring at the young wizard. "I'll buy my own-"

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" A voice drawled. Mariah turned. The voice belonged to a sneering boy with snowy blonde hair. His gray eyes glared at Potter. "_Famous_ Harry Potter," Malfoy said. "Can't even go into _bookshop_ without making the front page." Lilica looked around.

"He can't help it, can he, Draco?" Mariah sighed. No malice was present in her voice, just a cold, flat nonchalance. "He is _Harry Potter_, after all. Famous for a scar on his face.

"Aunt Lilica, can I fix my hair now?" Mariah murmured, promptly ignoring everyone else after getting in her own words. Her aunt sighed and nodded. Mariah looked relieved and her hair returned to it's original rich, dark brown shade with purple streaks. The Weasley blood-traitors watched with a fascination that seemed to disgust themselves. Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"Must you add the streaks?" Lilica sighed. Mariah nodded innocently, flashing a toothy grin. She looked towards the Weasleys. It appeared that there was still a heated argument going on.

"Well, well, well- Arthur Weasley." A new voice quite similar to Malfoy's cut in.

"Lucius." The red haired wizard responded coldly. The new wizard turned. Mariah found herself stuck in Lucius Malfoy's penetrating, steely gaze.

"Lucius." Lilica echoed, albeit more civilly.

"Mr. Malfoy." Mariah said, following her aunt's example.

"Lilica." Lucius answered. He nodded stiffly at her niece. Molly Weasley whipped around, staring at the new arrivals. Though her family and friends outnumbered the four purebloods before her, Lucius, accompanied by his 'friends', dominated them in power, political or otherwise.

"Pleasure to see you here." Lilica continued. "I'm afraid, however, that I must take my leave now. More shopping to do. We'll return when the line is more manageable. Enjoy yourself with this brutish, blood traitorous lot." Her pale, ice blue eyes strayed towards Mr. and Mrs. Granger who were looking on apprehensively, glaring at them coldly. With that, she strode toward the door, though the line would've been plenty manageable with their pureblood status and family tree. Mariah was about to follow but stopped when she saw Aideen's auburn hair. She was currently chatting with Mr. Lockhart, many witches eyeing her enviously.

"Now, which book would you like me to sign?" He was saying. "I wouldn't want to keep a pretty lady such as you waiting."

"Oh, I hate to say this, but I'm afraid I don't own a copy of your books." Aideen said, smiling apologetically. "_Any_ of them." She added. Lockhart looked positively appalled.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" He answered, flashing his award winning smile. A few witches nearby actually fainted. Mariah made a face. Lockhart _accio_'ed two copies of his entire series- including _Magical Me_\- into his hand.

"Double the offer for a wonderful witch." Lockhart exclaimed, signing each and every book. Aideen smiled, pulling off a convincing 'ecstatic' look. When Lockhart turned around for a few moments, Aideen bolted, holding all of the books with ease. She was about to drop all copies of the entire series into the fireplace as she passed. Thinking better of it, she shrugged, keeping all of the books.

Aideen saw Mariah and walked towards her. "You keep a few." She said, shoving half of the books into the younger girl's arms.

"What'll you do with the rest?" Mariah asked. Aideen smirked widely.

"Bribery."

With that, she walked away, leaving Mariah to the rest of her shopping.


	2. Chapter 2: First Day

**A/N: Second chapter! Please review, follow, and favorite! Constructive criticism is much appreciated, but flames mean as little as mint does to me. And I hate mint. XD **_**THIS STORY IS UN'BETAED! ALL MISTAKES MADE ARE MY OWN. FEEL FREE TO NOTIFY ME OF ANY ERRORS!**_

**-**_**IAILA**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise and am not trying to make money from writing spinoffs from the series. All rights reserved.**

* * *

_Screams. Darkness. Cold. Confusion. Sheer, unadulterated terror._

_Feeding. Hunting. Preying. The man is a source of food, nothing more._

_He shrieks, black shadow descending upon him._

_His heart stutters. His fear escalates. A hooded figure leans over; it's gaping mouth inhales. The soul enters, sucked in. Feeding done, it's gone. Slumped over, eyes glazed; the man's as good as dead._

_Roof tops rushing below. Flying overhead; cold, miserable despair._

_A storm is coming. And when it strikes, _He _will return in flurry of fire and rage._

* * *

The Hogwarts Express was well on it's way to Hogsmeade Station. Like any other first year, Mariah was, of course, nervous, a frown marring her dark face almost constantly. She was, however, positive as to which house she would be sorted into. It had been so with every other person in her entire family tree and, quite frankly, didn't want it any other way with herself.

Mariah sat in the same compartment as other kids in her year; a seemingly mental Luna Lovegood, the blood traitor Ginny Weasley, and an overly excited Colin Creevey. Every single one of them drove her crazy. Mariah stayed silent for the majority of the ride to Hogwarts (as Lovegood rambled on about Sumplekorned Corkhacks or whatever the bloody hell they were called, Creevey chirped animatedly about the "famous" Harry Potter, and Weasley shot not-entirely-friendly glances at her), only speaking to suggest they put on their robes.

When the Hogwarts Express finally pulled into Hogsmeade Station, Mariah all but ran out of her compartment, getting to the door of her car before people even began filing out into the aisle. Leaping out of the door, she looked around for a few moments before hearing a booming voice. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Glancing up, Mariah groaned. A huge, mountain of a man was wading through a pool of students that had quickly formed. She had heard of this oaf from her relatives. His name was Hagrid.

"Follow me." After walking for a bit, Hagrid spoke again to the sea of first years. "Yeh'll get to see Hogwarts in a sec." Gasps resounded through the crowd as they rounded a bend. There was also a loud "Oooh!"

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called out, pointing to the fleet of boats stationed on the shore of a big dark lake before them. Naturally, Mariah was stuck with the three other goons from the train. Huffing, she stepped into her boat after staring at it's other occupants ruefully. "All righ'? Everyone in?" Hagrid yelled. "Right then- FORWARD!" The boats all moved in sync, leaving the shore at a brisk pace.

"Heads down!" Their guide yelled as the boats reached a cliff below the castle. Gliding through a curtain of ivy, the first years found themselves in a dark tunnel, sailing into an underground harbor of sorts.

Following Hagrid through a passageway in the surrounding rock, they emerged under the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps. "Everyone here?" He raised a giant fist and knocked three times on the castle doors.

* * *

"The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room." A stern looking woman named Minerva McGonagall was saying.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as possible until then. I shall return momentarily." Professor McGonagall left the chamber they were standing in.

Mariah sighed. "It's not like we even need a Sorting Ceremony anyway." She grumbled quietly. "I'm sure that over half of us first years know the house we're gonna be in."

"Hear, hear!" A fellow first year muttered. Mariah glanced up. The person who spoke was a pretty blonde with long, wavy hair and bright hazel eyes. Mariah already knew that, by the telltale glint in her eyes, they would get along quite fine.

Finally, Professor McGonagall returned. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin. A few ghosts streamed through the opposite wall. Many students screamed, but McGonagall just said "Form a line and follow me."

The Great Hall was a splendid place. It was huge, with four long tables for each house and plates, as well as goblets, laid down neatly upon them. Thousands of candles were floating around and the ceiling was very obviously bewitched to look like the night sky outside.

Professor McGonagall placed a four legged stool in front of the first years. She then proceeded to put down a frayed, patchy, and very dirty wizard's hat. Mariah knew that it was the Sorting Hat. A few first years looked at it apprehensively. With a sneer, Mariah realized that they were Muggle-borns.

The hat sang a song describing each of the houses, and then the sorting began. There were many names and many houses called out, but Mariah only heard (or at least slightly recognized) a few.

"Burke, Tanya!", the blonde girl from the harbor, was placed in Slytherin, true to her family's name. She probably spent her free time having tea parties with the Hand of Glory in her father's shop. Muggle-born Colin Creevey was placed in Gryffindor and Luna Lovegood in Ravenclaw.

"Rist, Mariah!" McGonagall called out. Many people knew her family, and was familiar with the powerful name 'Rist'. Mariah walked up to the stool confidently, her head held high in a fashion that many would probably call complete arrogance.

Taking a seat, McGonagall lowered the hat. It was still inches away from touching Mariah's brown locks when it screamed "SLYTHERIN!" That was the fastest anyone had been sorted that year, and possibly in the last century, maybe longer. Grinning smugly, Mariah pranced towards the Slytherin table. There was a deafening roar of approval from the rowdy lot, though almost everyone wore identical expressions of malice. They were definitely going to be testing the new first years. Even though they were sorted into Slytherin house, there were always more… personal tests. Mariah noticed a group of meek looking students off to the back end of the table. They were very obviously the outcasts of the house. She had no intentions of joining them any time soon.

Mariah sat down across the boy from Flourish and Blotts, Draco Malfoy, who had two thugs accompanying him. Next to her sat Blaise Zabini. They exchanged glares that weren't unfriendly, but were much cooler than necessary.

"Weasley, Ginevra!" Professor McGonagall called out, after a few more names. Said witch flushed at her full name. She shuffled forward, head down.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat roared immediately.

"Of course." Malfoy sneered. Mariah glanced back at the Gryffindor table where a small battalion of redheads sat, whooping and welcoming their youngest and only sister.

"Zaorgan, Geoffrey!" was made a Hufflepuff, and McGonagall rolled up her long list of names. She took away the stool and hat. Mariah marveled (not for the first time in her life) at the wide variety of surnames in the wizarding world. They ranged from Squashpatch to Cornish to Gorgon, and one was just simply Toad.

Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome, to the first years, welcome! To the older ones, welcome back! There are a few staff announcements I would like to make. First, please give a warm welcome to Miss. Aideen Malfoy." Mariah stared at the auburn-haired witch, stunned. This must be her big surprise. Many mutters erupted from the students. They obviously recognised the surname 'Malfoy' and were taken aback by her red hair in a family tree of platinum blondes. Mariah began clapping excitedly, her hair turning bright, dandelion yellow (many people stared at this) as Aideen walked out of a side door, smiling nervously. The rest of the students hesitantly joined. "She will be giving a helping hand to anyone who needs it around the school, students and staff alike." Malfoy looked as if someone had pissed on his homework; not sure whether or not to be happy that his homework was ruined and he didn't have to do it or be upset that he wouldn't get marks for it (or, in this case, happy for his aunt or shun her like the rest of his family).

"Also, I would like to welcome Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart!" Dumbledore continued. "He will be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!" This statement was met with much more eager applause. Lockhart stood up, lazily flashing his award-winning smile and waving. Many witches swooned in their seats. Dumbledore coughed slightly.

"Now, I would like to say a few words before the banquet. Here you are: Abibliophobia! Codswallop! Logorrhea!

"Thank you!" He sat back down. Many people cheered.

The plates before them filled with every food you could think of, including Mariah's favorite, roast beef. Piling her plate high, Blaise looked at her incredulously. "Are you gonna eat _all_ of that?" He compared his plate to Mariah's. They had the same amount of food.

"Umm, yeah." Mariah answered, already shoving a chunk of herb roasted potatoes in her mouth, somehow managing it with all the dignity necessary of a pureblood. "Got a problem?" She asked, arching a dark, well-groomed eyebrow. Blaise raised his hands in surrender. Malfoy snickered and many of Mariah's housemates stared. Obviously, Blaise backing down was not a common occurrence, even in the one year they've been in Hogwarts the previous term.

After finishing her dinner and dessert (which she ate a lot of), the Slytherin prefect, Gemma Farley, lead them down into the dungeons to the common room (as many students muttered about Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's extravagant entry via crashing a flying car into the Whomping Willow). On the way, she said that the password was _Pure-Blood_, a _very_ creative name in Mariah's opinion. Note the sarcasm. Though her father and mother were both magic-folk, some Slytherin's were not.

Farley stopped beside a tapestry of Samphy the Sumptuous and reached for her wand, tapping a slightly loose stone brick thrice. "Pure-Blood." She said, loudly and clearly. The stone popped out, acting as a handle. Farley gave a slight tug and a twist and the bricks in front of her folded away.

There was a small corridor that lead to the Dungeon behind the stone wall. Mariah ran her fingers over the worn brick surrounding her. She heard the ghosts of the past whispering in her ears. Literally. Many of the first years looked around, trying to figure out the source of the raspy noise. "Spirits of past Slytherins are trapped within these walls." Farley explained. "No one really knows why it happens, or even how."

After a short walk, the group found themselves in a vast room with glowing green lights and windows that opened out to the murky waters of the Black Lake. Silver and green were the main colors of the room. Furniture was placed in a disorderly organised way and tapestries adorned the walls. A fire crackled away in a large hearth taking up most of one wall. "Welcome," Farley said grandly, flourishing her hands. "to the Slytherin Dungeon."

* * *

**A/N: Tell me what you think about the little scene in italics in the beginning? I was thinking about doing one of those every few chapters or so. Also, I didn't actually put in the Sorting Hat's song because Harry and Ron missed it in the second book. I didn't feel like making it up myself.**

**Drop me the meaning(s) of any of the words Dumbledore said before the banquet in the reviews if you know them!**

**Please review, follow, and favorite! Constructive criticism is much appreciated, but flames mean as little as mint does to me. And I hate mint. XD**


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